The Infrastructure’s Guide ☆ 16

Qiu Juan cast a suspicious glance at Meng Sheng: "What was it?"

"I said earlier that I would give you a new weapon." Meng Sheng loosened his wrist, "Wait for me."

He turned around and rushed to the cave where he took out the bow and arrows.

Qiu Juan examined the strangely shaped wood, clenched it in his palm and asked, "What is this?"

"Don't worry, I'll show you." Meng Sheng cocked an arrow and aimed it at a large tree trunk in the distance.

The arrow flew out, piercing the bark and embedding itself in the wood.

"It's called a bow and you use it to hunt." Meng Sheng explained while holding out the bow and arrow to Qiu Juan.

Qiu Juan stared at him without blinking, amazed at how powerful this little piece of wood was.

"What do you think? Do you want to try it out?" Secretly, Meng Sheng was relieved after he shot at the tree.

In fact, he had forgotten to aim properly. He only knew the basics of the bow and arrow. He was far from proficient. Right now, he was afraid of embarrassing himself in front of the sub-female if he missed.

Qiu Juan couldn't wait, "Alright, I'll give it a try."

Meng Sheng only told him how to pull the arrow by the string. Qiu Juan released it and the arrow grazed the ground.

Looking at the arrow planted on the ground, Meng Sheng wanted to provide comfort and encouragement, but Qiu Juan didn't seem discouraged at all.

"I'll try again!"

Meng Sheng nodded tacitly. He was much tougher than he seemed.

Qiu Juan fired off a few more shots, all of which somehow missed. Meng Sheng bent down and patted him on the back as he pulled the arrow again.

"Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your left hand straight. Look down the arrow and aim it at the target. Pull the string back using your back muscles. Pull it as far as you can and let go. Now try it."

"Alright." Qiu Juan took aim and did as Meng Sheng said. This time the arrow flowed properly and hit the tree trunk.

"Look, Meng Sheng, I finally hit it!" Qiu Juan 's eyes widened as he turned his head to look at Meng Sheng.

His bright eyes lit up. He was about to jump up and down with joy.

Meng Sheng grinned as he watched him, "Not bad! Soon, you'll be able to master it."

"After a few more training sessions, I might be able to use it for hunting too!" Qiu Juan said, looking down at the bow and arrow in his hand. "And I won't have to worry about losing it anymore."

"You should be able to do that too." Meng Sheng wanted to practice a bit more with the sub-female, but the rain continued to pelt him.

So he suggested going back and explaining how to make arrows on the way.

Qiu Juan did not refuse. They continued to walk slowly.

Amidst the mist and rain, Qiu Juan suddenly turned his head, raised his new bow, waved at him and said, "Meng Sheng, thank you, I really like the weapon you made."

Meng Sheng lowered his head and laughed.

The next day, Meng Sheng was on the stone bed, thinking that since it was raining anyway, he might as well get up little later. As soon he closed his eyes, the birds outside the cave chirped happily.

He recognized the flower-tailed birds that always flew low. They were singing at the entrance to the cave. It used to be much quieter here, but that changed when he started keeping chickens. These birds wanted to eat the food in the chicken coop, but they couldn't fly in because the chicken coop had a roof. In the morning they like to cluck around in the chicken coop. It sounded like a broken bellows, and it was awful.

After a few rolls on the stone bed, he couldn't sleep because the noise was so loud. He threw off the wool blanket and stormed out of the cave in a huff.

A couple of flower-tailed birds were pecking at the pen, trying to get at the pheasants' scraps of food. He chased them away with a wooden stick. The flower-tailed birds soared all over the place with a sneer.

He took a peek at the chicken coop. There were pheasant feathers all over the place. Obviously it had just experienced a fight. There were still a few pieces of meat inside. He was shocked to know that pheasants could be so aggressive. But then he saw the adult pheasants protecting the little ones. The little fuzzies were crying.

"It turns out you were protecting the food for the little chicks. Don't worry, I'll prepare some more."

He was about to return to get some minced meat for the chicks when one of the flower-tailed birds came back and hovered above his head, squawking.

"Get lost!"

He swiped up with a wooden stick a couple times, but the bird only soared higher but didn't fly away, as if to tease him.

"Fuck, die with Lao Tzu!" He arose with unbridled fury and chased after the damn bird while waving his wooden sticks around. [TN: I like how polite he is in front of Qiu Juan, but as soon as he's alone he curses XD]

The male was powerful while the bird was tireless. Both of them when running in circles.

Meng Sheng raced for about four to five minutes before halting, taking a bite, and returning to the cave, feeling that his behavior was indeed a bit mentally retarded. At that point, a flower-tailed bird flew overhead.

"Fuck it!" No sooner had his voice died down than he felt something cold drop on his shoulder.

Tilting his chin, he saw a tuft of white bird droppings perched firmly on his shoulder. [TN: For some reason, I immediately remembered the scene in "Stone Age Husband Raising Journal" where a bird shit on Lion's (forgot his name) head.]

He clenched his fists and hurled the wooden stick at the shitbird. At the same time, the flower-tailed bird thumped down in front of his toes.

Meng Sheng glanced at the flower-tailed bird. Since there was an arrow lodged in the bird's abdomen, he wasn't the one who brought it down.

Qiu Juan rushed over, not next to him, but a few strides ahead, and easily drew three arrows from his waist and slid them onto the strings, pulled the strings, and released the arrows all at once. Flower-tailed birds began to fall one by one.

Meng Sheng noticed that Qiu Juan's usual weapon holster had been replaced by a simple leather quiver. The sub-female approached him with a bow in one hand and three flower-tailed birds in the other, and his face was filled with long-lost confidence.

When he went hunting with Qiu Juan previously, he found that the sub female was very suitable for using a bow and arrow. Firstly, because he could aim very accurately, and secondly, because if he had a bow and arrow, he would just have to stay a long distance away instead of approaching the prey. The farther away he was, the safer he would be.

He knew this kid could practice arrows well, but he hadn't expected someone whowas so bad yesterday to be so proficient with them today, and he could even shoot three at once, which was a real display of talent!

"You lived up to my expectations." He grumbled, helpless in front of a true talent.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that the powerful male of our tribe chased after the birds all morning," Qiu Juan said, laying the birds at his feet.

Meng Sheng's face grew black. "You watched long before making a move? How leisurely."

Qiu Juan burst out laughing, "You moved so fast. I couldn't make an aim."

Meng Sheng let out a cold snort. Yesterday, he was worried that he would lose face in front of sub-females due to inaccurate shooting. Today, he lost the face he hadn't lost yesterday.

He spun around and walked away from the cave.

Qiu Juan swiftly pursued him. "Where are you going? Today, the sky has finally cleared up. So aren't we going hunting?

"I'm on my way to the river. Do you want to watch me wash?"

Qiu Juan's feet paused, and this wise one didn't follow.

Meng Sheng abruptly turned around and shamelessly said. "No? Actually, I'm in good shape and have an eight-pack."

Qiu Juan's usually pale face turned slightly crimson, which was very noticeable. "What's so great about that? I have them as well!"

Meng Sheng's brow furrowed. The men of the tribe only wore a skirt made of animal fur around their hips, so their upper body was naked, while the sub-females and females wore animal skins that covered their entire body. He'd never seen Qiu Juan naked before.

Meng Sheng thought about it. "Really?"

Qiu Juan tried to ignore the look in his eyes, but he couldn't, so he dodged and said, "If you aren't going, then I... Go hunt with Brother Zhong Yang."

He intended to leave, but realized, he had no idea how to find Zhong Yang.

Meng Sheng frowned, "I didn't mean I wouldn't go! You go to my cave and shredd some meat for the chicken to eat. I'll be back shortly."

Qiu Juan paused, "Then... I'll do that."

After hearing Qiu Juan's promise, Meng Sheng rushed to the small river. There, he directly fell into it. Before the stone pot, he always bathed in the river. Since some locals could pass by at any time, he never took off his animal skin skirt.

The river water was exceptionally cold in the early morning, especially after several days of continuous rain.

Fighting through the chill, he wiped bird droppings from his shoulders and washed vigorously. Fearing that Qiu Juan would wait too long, he did it quickly.

As he stepped out of the water, he heard a sharp, deafening sound.

Following the sound, he saw a female drawing water upstream. At a glance, he recognized the female from her body shape as Tang Tong.

He completely ignored her and went straight to the bank .

Tang Tong roared loudly. "Meng Sheng, you are shameless! Going now out!"

"Sister, do I have to wait until the river stops before I go out? I'm wearing a skirt!" He rolled his eyes and walked back, but after two steps, he stopped again. "Besides, if you don't want to look, just close your eyes tight instead of peeking through the gaps in your fingers."

What was she thinking if she kept her eyes open? Fortunately, he was wearing a skirt, otherwise he would have been taken advantage of.

Meng Sheng wasn't sure if the one whose last name was Kong had any brains at all, since he had actually choose to hooked up with such a person. [TN: Old Man Meng Sheng, she's 15-16, still a kid, they're all a bit foolish at this age.]

Tang Tong blushed, chewed on her lower lip and stamped her foot. She was shaken up. She wanted to refute but had no idea how, so she hurried off with her water.

Qiu Juan blushed as he entered Meng Sheng's cave. He only now realized what he had done. Despite the fact that it wasn't his first visit, it was the first time he entered it alone.

He hurried off to find some meat. The meat was hanging on the cave wall the last time he saw it, but this time he didn't see any of it. He turned about and discovered a pile of black meat in a corner. He took a piece out of it and only turning around to go out, he noticed Meng Sheng's meat was stacked up next to where he slept.

As he walked two steps further, he could see a stone bed covered with animal hides. It seemed to be very cozy. In his cave there were also skins, but not so many. He gave the best ones to his mother, who was already elderly and couldn't bear the cold anymore. He was young and strong. It didn't matter how cold it was. He slept by the flames when it was really cold.

He was only a little perplexed at what was on Meng Sheng's bed that resembled animal skins and leaves. Of course, no matter how curious he was, he wouldn't barge in. He was about to leave when he turned around and bumped into a wet human wall.

Meng Sheng clutched the sub-female's shoulders and prevented him from falling back.

"What were you looking at?"

Qiu Juan took a step back as he heard a familiar voice. Just now, he had lowered his head and brushed his nose against Meng Sheng. There were still drops of water on the man's body. Qiu Juan gently wiped the tip of his nose.

"It's nothing, I just happened to see your sleeping spot when I took the meat. It was very wide."

Meng Sheng did not respond to his words. He kept his weapon hidden so that the sub-female shouldn't have seen it. He entered the small cave and noticed the clothes on the bed.

"Where you looking at this?"

Qiu Juan's silence acquiesced.

"If you don't mind that I have worn it, I can give it to you." Meng Sheng said, turning around with a t-shirt that was now a little too small for him.

When Qiu Juan imagined himself wearing male's clothes, his face instantly turned rosy. He immediately reached out his hand to stop the male from approaching him.

"Don't, keep it to yourself."

After saying that, he quickly ran out.

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